Newswise — University of Iowa Children's Hospital has teamed up with the University of Iowa Hawkeye football team to make game day an unforgettable experience for thirteen current and former patients of UI Children's Hospital who have been selected as "Kid Captains" for the 2009 UI football season.
The Kid Captain Program was established to honor pediatric patients of UI Children's Hospital and celebrate their inspirational stories. Children selected as Kid Captains for the home games are given pre-game field access and photo opportunities and are introduced as honored guests for the pre-game coin toss at midfield in Kinnick Stadium. They also receive four game tickets, plus parking accommodations, to attend the game.
The children chosen all are dealing with life-changing and in many cases life-threatening medical issues, and their conditions required complex and intricate surgeries or advanced medical care. As Iowa's only comprehensive children's hospital, UI Children's Hospital was able to provide the expertise and resources that made the difference between life and death for many of these children.
Thirteen Kid Captains (one of the 12 games has two Kid Captains – brothers with unrelated medical issues) were chosen from nearly 350 nominations that were submitted from across Iowa and surrounding states, and from as far away as Texas and New York.
"The nominations we received told truly amazing stories of the courage and perseverance shown by these children and their families. They face severe, life-threatening and life-altering illness with incredible grace and good humor. These families' stories are all inspirational and choosing children from just 12 families to be Kid Captains was unbelievably difficult," said Michael Artman, M.D., physician-in-chief at UI Children's Hospital and professor and head of pediatrics at the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.
"On behalf of our whole team of pediatric health care providers, I thank all the families for sharing their wonderful stories and for reminding us what a privilege it is for us to care for these remarkable children and their families," he added.
All Kid Captains, including the honorary away game captains, have their individual stories told throughout the football season and receive a commemorative jersey.
To learn more about all the Kid Captains and their stories, visit http://www.uihealthcare.com/children.
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